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Synonyms

space probe

American  

noun

  1. Aerospace. an unmanned spacecraft designed to explore the solar system and transmit data back to earth.

space probe British  

noun

  1. a vehicle, such as a satellite, equipped to obtain scientific information, normally transmitted back to earth by radio, about the atmosphere, surface, and temperature of a planet, conditions in space, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of space probe

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In 2034, NASA's space probe Dragonfly is expected to reach Titan, with the aim of investigating what is on its surface.

From Science Daily • Oct. 17, 2025

They then used a laser beam to excite the droplets and mass spectral analysis to mimic what instruments on the space probe will detect.

From Science Daily • Mar. 22, 2024

The space probe flew through them seven times during its 13-year mission, discovering organic molecules such as methane and formaldehyde, and hydrogen, a potential energy source for microbes.

From Science Magazine • May 30, 2023

How has a space probe launched in the '70s outlived so many more recent space exploration robots?

From Salon • May 7, 2023

April 3, 1966: The Luna 10 space probe becomes the first spacecraft to orbit the moon.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.